London views from citizenM

Talking about the city with Robin Chadha

In this photo

citizenM's co-founder and CMO Robin Chadha

With Streets of London seeing the light of day, we asked frequent visitor and one of MENDO’s closest relations Robin Chadha from citizenM to tell us a bit about this amazing city on the other side of the North Sea.

Robin Chadha, co-founder and chief-marketing officer of citizenM (and avid book collector) knows all about it. As a former resident and frequent visitor, Robin understands what makes London a city unlike any other. “My connection with London is very deep, I have a lot of family living in London and even lived there myself for a short period. We have three citizenM hotels in London, one in Bankside on the Southern Bank of the river, one at the Tower of London, and a third one in the heart of Shoreditch. It’s the epicenter for art and cultural exhibitions. And I never leave London without being inspired.”

That same inspiration channels through Streets of London. The book shows a diverse view on London and highlights both the iconic landmarks, as well as the hidden gems of the city. “To me, typically London is: Tea, Tube, Harrods, Black Cabs, baked beans, and late night Lebanese food. But London has a lot of hidden gems. Some of my favorites are Hunan Restaurant, an amazing Chinese restaurant without a menu, Smoke Stack restaurant in Shoreditch and my favorite cocktail bar: Milk & Honey.”

‘I never leave London without being inspired.’

‘I never leave London without being inspired.’

Robin Chadha

London has extremely much to offer and this book is a tactile proof of that. No wonder London is a hotspot for many travellers, as well as for Robin. “It is one of my favorite cities in the world. I love to start my day with a full English breakfast, hop on the Tube and work at societyM Tower of London. A perfect London day would continue with having Lunch at Eat by Chloe, doing a little shopping around Brick Lane and Sloane Street, drink some late afternoon cocktails at the Blue Bar at the Berkeley, then head for dinner at Mr Chow, and have late night drinks and a dance at Loulou’s private members club.”

The next (fuzzy) morning should start with a book, of course. Preferably in one of the London citizenM hotels. citizenM and MENDO have been long time collaborators, with two book titles and extensive MENDO libraries in many citizenM-lobbies and -rooms. “We always wanted to immerse our guests in our living rooms with amazing designer furniture, art, styling and of course inspiring books. I love all of them, but the Limited Edition Annie Leibovitz is my personal favorite. We’ve had books from MENDO since our first hotel opened in 2008. Since then, the partnership solidified and we even published together and had shop-in-shops in NYC and London.”

MENDO’s first shop in shop was in citizenM London Bankside, which is still Robin’s favorite citizenM hotel. “I think citizenM London Bankside still is the perfect citizenM hotel. It was our first in the city, so it holds a special place for me, just like London as a whole will always be a special place to me.”

Streets of London
That special place has now been immortalized with Streets of London. A contemporary take on the classic city photo book with over 200 beautiful images of the London of now, shot by some of today’s most talented street photographers. Streets of London is a MENDO teNeues publication and is available as of now.